LAST TIME:

"Go with what your heart tells you, or you will lose all." She said interrupting me. "Hades feeds on doubt and hopelessness. He will trick you if he can, make you mis-trust your own judgment. Once you are in his realm, he will never willingly let you leave. Keep faith. Good luck, Percy Jackson."

She summoned her sea horse and rode toward the void. "Goodbye, young hero," she called back, her voice fading into the depths. "You must listen to your heart." She became a speck of glowing green, and then she was gone.

I swam towards the shore as I conversed with Alexander.

Next destination: The Underworld.

Ch.11 I Fight the God of War

With some spare change from Ares's backpack, we took the bus into West Hollywood. I showed the driver the Underworld address slip I'd taken from Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium, but he'd never heard of DOA Recording Studios. After a couple of stops, I saw three cyclops board the train.

I elbowed Annabeth. "Monsters." She looked around and gave me a quizzical look. Ah, so she couldn't see their single eye. Hmmm...

To my left, Grover sniffed the air and looked straight at the three cyclops and discreetly pointed towards them. I nodded and we decided to get off on the next stop. The bus was packed and we couldn't risk mortals getting in our way. We got off on the next stop without incident.

We wandered for miles on foot, looking for DOA. I had taken out my map book and we followed the map the best we could. Annabeth's dyslexia almost led us to a wrong turn but Alexander yelled in my head and I took care of the mistake.

We stopped at a mall around time for Lunch. According to the map, the DOA studios should only be a few blocks away. We immediately went to the food court and bought some biscuits and gravy along with sandwiches and cokes. We didn't need to worry about the money. I had dozen times unlimited money after all. So, I just swiped a platinum Lotus Casino card and paid the bill.

"So, what are we gonna do now?" Grover asked. "Like how are we going to get into the underworld?"

"We walk in." I said simply.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow as she chewed her morsel of food. "Just like that?" She asked after swallowing the bite.

I shrugged. "I have no damn idea how to get into the underworld except for the address we have. So, we have got to walk through the front door." I replied and turned back to my plate.

Soon, we finished the food and rested for half an hour. It was my idea to do that. If we were going to face Hades, I was going to make sure that we were well rested. While we did that, we made a vague plan, to enter the land of dead.

After that, we set off again towards DOA recording studios. As we neared our location, we passed all sorts of people: gangbangers, bums, and street hawkers, who looked at us like they were trying to figure if we were worth the trouble of mugging.

I was resisting the urge to uncap my Riptide or bring the storm-rider out. Instead, I flipped open my Balisong knife and started playing with it. It would pass straight through mortals though if I needed to use it. My storm-rider would've been better. It could kill mortals as well but I didn't bring it forth for obvious reasons. And I wasn't going around killing mortals. I didn't fancy becoming a criminal in the eyes of law, thank you very much.

As we hurried passed the entrance of an alley, a voice from the darkness said, "Hey, you."

I started walking faster with my friends but, Grover tripped and before we knew it, we were surrounded. A gang of kids had circled us. Six of them in all-white kids with expensive clothes and mean faces.

I couldn't kill them or beat them up horribly so, no using my weapons. And if I showed them a sword, they would just laugh and attack. But, that was not everything I had. I removed the pistol I had taken from Lotus Hotel guards from my bag. I had machine guns too but they were in the tent. The pistol would have two or three bullets at the max though.

The gang instantly backed off. I removed the safety from the pistol. They gulped and ran away.

"Where did you get that?" Annabeth asked eyeing the weapon in my hand.

"What do you think I was shooting with after I punched that Bellhop?" I asked dryly.

"Oh, I know you have that. But, where did you get it from."

"One of the guards in there. He tried to attack me but I knocked him out and took his gun." I replied as we continued towards the DOA studios.

Now, the map only showed that we were in the general vicinity of the DOA studios. There were several alleys leading to gods know where.

"We should ask for directions from a local shop." Grover said. We entered the first shop we saw: Crusty's Water Bed Palace

"Hello? Anyone here?" Annabeth said as we saw no one in the shop.

"Good afternoon." A voice behind us said.

We all jumped. Standing behind us was a guy who looked like a raptor in a leisure suit. He was at least seven feet tall, with absolutely no hair. He had gray, leathery skin, thick-lidded eyes, and a cold, reptilian smile. He moved toward us slowly, but I got the feeling he could move fast if he needed to. His suit might've come from the Lotus Casino. It belonged back in the seventies, big-time. The shirt was silk paisley, unbuttoned halfway down his hairless chest. The lapels on his velvet jacket were as wide as landing strips. The silver chains around his neck-I couldn't even count them.

"I'm Crusty," he said, with a tartar-yellow smile.

I resisted the urge to tell him 'Yes you are.' instead I said, "Hello. We were looking for directions to DOA studios. Can you point us in the right direction?"

"DOA studios... Hmmm... Are you sure you don't want to check my collection out? See, this one is my most popular model." Crusty spread his hands proudly over a bed covered with black satin sheets, with built-in Lava Lamps on the headboard. The mattress vibrated, so it looked like oil-flavored Jell-O.

"Million-hand massage," Crusty told us. "Go on, try it out. Shoot, take a nap. I don't care. No business today, anyway."

"Um," I said, "I don't think..."

"Million-hand massage!" Grover cried, and dove in. "Oh, you guys! This is cool."

"Hmm," Crusty said, stroking his leathery chin. "Almost, almost."

"Almost what?" I asked skeptically.

He looked at Annabeth. "Do me a favor and try this one over here, honey. Might fit."

Annabeth said, "But what-" He patted her reassuringly on the shoulder and led her over to the Safari Deluxe model with teakwood lions carved into the frame and a leopard-patterned comforter. I was already readying myself for a fight. Who the hell was this guy. Crusty-crusty... the name rang no bells.

#Percy, Procrustes! The stretcher. Your brother Theseus killed him.# Alexander said in my head as Crusty pushed Annabeth into the bed.

'Oh damn.'

Crusty snapped his fingers. "Ergo!" Ropes sprang from the sides of the bed, lashing around Annabeth, holding her to the mattress. Grover tried to get up, but ropes sprang from his black-satin bed, too, and lashed him down.

"N-not c-c-cool!" he yelled, his voice vibrating from the million-hand massage. "N-not c-cool a-at all!

I brought forth my storm-rider and lunged at Procrustes and immediately kicked him onto a bed. Before he could get up, I pointed my sword at his neck. "Let my friends go Procrustes and I will let you live."

"Whoa, kid. Don't worry. I'll let them go." He said raising his hands in surrender. "But I got to make them fit, first. All the beds are exactly six feet, see? Your friends are too short. Got to make them fit. Ergo."

Annabeth and Grover kept struggling as a new set of ropes tied at their ankles and started stretching them. Next they wrapped around their armpits too.

I snarled in anger.

'Will my sword cut through these bonds?' I asked Alexander as I hurried towards my friends.

#Storm-rider most definitely will if your knife doesn't.# I just nodded and beheaded Procrustes before I cut through the ropes with my sword.

Annabeth and Grover got to their feet, groaning and wincing and cursing me a lot. "You look taller," I said.

"Very funny," Annabeth said. "Be faster next time."

I looked at the bulletin board behind Crusty's sales desk. There was an advertisement for Hermes Delivery Service, and another for the All-New Compendium of L.A. Area Monsters-"The only Monstrous Yellow Pages you'll ever need!" Under that, a bright orange flier for DOA Recording Studios, offering commissions for heroes' souls. "We are always looking for new talent!" DOA's address was right underneath with a map.

I rummaged further and found some cash and a bag of Drachmas.

"Come on," I told my friends. "Give us a minute," Grover complained. "We were almost stretched to death.'"

"Then you're ready for the Underworld," I said. "It's only a block from here."

We stood in the shadows of Valencia Boulevard, looking up at gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS. Underneath, stenciled on the glass doors: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING.

The lobby was brightly lit and full of people. Behind the security desk sat a tough-looking guard with sunglasses and an earpiece.

I turned to my friends. "Okay. You remember the plan."

"The plan," Grover gulped. "Yeah. I love the plan."

Annabeth said, "What happens if the plan doesn't work?"

"Don't think negative."

"Right," she said sarcastically. "We're entering the Land of the Dead, and I shouldn't think negative."

I took the pearls out of my pocket, the three milky spheres the Nereid had given me in Santa Monica. "Take this. If things go south, crush one under your foot."

"What will it do?"

"What belongs to the sea will always return to the sea."

Annabeth put her hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Percy. You're right, we'll make it. It'll be fine." She gave Grover a nudge.

"Oh, right!" he chimed in. "We got this far. We'll find the master bolt. We will return home and prevent World war three."

We walked inside the DOA lobby. Muzak played softly on hidden speakers. The carpet and walls were steel gray. Pencil cactuses grew in the corners like skeleton hands. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken. There were people sitting on couches, people standing up, people staring out the windows or waiting for the elevator. Nobody moved, or talked, or did much of anything.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see them all just fine, but if I focused on any one of them in particular, they started looking... transparent. I could see right through their bodies.

The security guard's desk was a raised podium, so we had to look up at him. He was tall and elegant, with chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blond hair shaved military style. He wore tortoiseshell shades and a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag.

#Charon. The ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the deceased across the river Styx # Alexander stated the obvious.

"Charon." I said out loud causing the ferryman to look up.

"Mr. Charon." He said.

"Mr. Charon." I said, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

"Good." He said with a nod. "Now, how may I help you little dead ones?"

"We want to go the Underworld." I said in a no-nonsense tone.

Charon's mouth twitched. "Well, that's refreshing."

"It is?" I asked.

"Straightforward and honest. No screaming. No 'There must be a mistake, Mr. Charon.'" He looked us over. "How did you die, then?"

"Our boat sank and we drowned while we were boating." I lied easily.

"I don't suppose you have coins for passage. Normally, with adults, you see, I could charge your American Express, or add the ferry price to your last cable bill. But with children... alas, you never die prepared. Suppose you'll have to take a seat for a few centuries."

"Will these do?" I said taking out a few Golden Drachmas from my pocket and placed a couple on his desk.

"Well, now..." Charon moistened his lips. "Real drachmas. Real golden drachmas. I haven't seen these in..."

His fingers hovered greedily over the coins.

Then Charon looked at me. That cold stare behind his glasses seemed to bore a hole through my chest. "None of you are dead." He growled. "Two demigods and a satyr."

I nodded. "We still need to get to the underworld Mr. Charon. Being alive while entering makes a little difference."

"Tell you what, leave while you can," Charon told us. "I'll just take these and forget I saw you."

He started to go for the coins, but I snatched them back. "No service, No fees."

Charon growled again-a deep, blood-chilling sound. The spirits of the dead started pounding on the elevator doors.

"It's a shame, too," I sighed dramatically. "We had more to offer." I took out the bag of drachmas I had taken from Procrustes and jiggled it.

Charon's growl changed into something more like a lion's purr. "Do you think I can be bought, godling? Eh... just out of curiosity, how much have you got there?"

#Seems like Hades doesn't pay him much. I think my half brother is nearly having a hard time managing the underworld traffic. And, he was a little bit of a miser despite being the god of wealth since ancient times anyways.# Alexander said. #He doesn't spend where he thinks it is not needed.#

"A lot," I said answering Charon's question. "I bet Hades doesn't pay you well enough for such hard work." I said.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it. How would you like to babysit these spirits all day? Always 'Please don't let me be dead' or 'Please let me across for free.' I haven't had a pay raise in three thousand years. Do you imagine suits like this come cheap?"

"You deserve better," I agreed. "A little appreciation. Respect. Good pay."

With each word, I stacked another gold coin on the counter.

Charon glanced down at his silk Italian jacket, as if imagining himself in something even better. "I must say, lad, you're making some sense now. Just a little."

I stacked another few coins.

"I could mention a pay raise while I'm talking to Hades." I added.

He sighed. "The boat's almost full, anyway. I might as well add you three and be off." He stood, scooped up our money, and said, "Come along." We pushed through the crowd of waiting spirits, who started grabbing at our clothes like the wind, their voices whispering things I couldn't make out. Charon shoved them out of the way, grumbling, "Freeloaders."

He escorted us into the elevator, which was already crowded with souls of the dead, each one holding a green boarding pass. Charon grabbed two spirits who were trying to get on with us and pushed them back into the lobby. "Right. Now, no one get any ideas while I'm gone," he announced to the waiting room. "And if anyone moves the dial off my easy-listening station again, I'll make sure you're here for another thousand years. Understand?"

He shut the doors. He put a key card into a slot in the elevator panel and we started to descend.

"What happens to the spirits waiting in the lobby?" Annabeth asked.

"Nothing," Charon said.

"For how long?"

"Forever, or until I'm feeling generous."

"Oh," she said. "That's... fair."

Charon raised an eyebrow. "Whoever said death was fair, young miss? Wait until it's your turn. You'll die soon enough, where you're going."

"We'll get out alive," I said confidently.

"Ha."

I got a sudden dizzy feeling. We weren't going down anymore, but forward. The air turned misty. Spirits around me started changing shape. Their modern clothes flickered, turning into gray hooded robes. The floor of the elevator began swaying. I blinked hard. When I opened my eyes, Charon's creamy Italian suit had been replaced by a long black robe. His tortoiseshell glasses were gone. Where his eyes should've been were empty sockets-like Ares's eyes, except Charon's were totally dark, full of night and death and despair.

#Welcome to the underworld Percy.# Alexander said.

Grover said, "I think I'm getting seasick."

If Alexander wasn't with me, I would too have felt sick... not sea sick but, normal sick. As a son of Poseidon, Sea sickness was never going to be a problem.

When I blinked again, the elevator wasn't an elevator anymore. We were standing in a wooden barge. Charon was poling us across a dark, oily river, swirling with bones, dead fish, and other, stranger things-plastic dolls, crushed carnations, soggy diplomas with gilt edges.

"The River Styx," Annabeth murmured. "It's so..."

"Polluted," Charon said. "For thousands of years, you humans have been throwing in everything as you come across-hopes, dreams, wishes that never came true. Irresponsible waste management, if you ask me."

Mist curled off the filthy water. Above us, almost lost in the gloom, was a ceiling of stalactites. Ahead, the far shore glimmered with greenish light, the color of poison.

I felt that I didn't belong here. I willed the helm to appear on my head in the form of a cap. I felt my panic reduce and my clear up, but, the feeling that I didn't belong here remained.

#That would not go away. You do not belong here. First and foremost, you're the son of the sea and this is the realm of Hades. Secondly you are alive. This is the place of the dead.# Alexander said.

Annabeth grabbed hold of my hand. Under normal circumstances, this would've embarrassed me, but I understood how she felt. She wanted reassurance that somebody else was alive on this boat.

I found Grover muttering a prayer, though I wasn't quite sure who I was praying to. Down here, only one god mattered, and he was the one we had come to confront. Though, I was seriously thinking now that Hades couldn't be the thief by any means. My main suspect now was Ares. Like I was 95 percent sure that he was the thief... or atleast the god whom the prophecy spoke about.

The shoreline of the Underworld came into view. Craggy rocks and black volcanic sand stretched inland about a hundred yards to the base of a high stone wall, which marched off in either direction as far as we could see. A sound came from somewhere nearby in the green gloom, echoing off the stones-the howl of a large animal.

"Old Three-Face is hungry," Charon said. His smile turned skeletal in the greenish light. "Bad luck for you, godlings."

The bottom of our boat slid onto the black sand. The dead began to disembark. A woman holding a little girl's hand. An old man and an old woman hobbling along arm in arm. A boy no older than I was, shuffling silently along in his gray robe.

Charon said, "I'd wish you luck, mate, but there isn't any down here. Mind you, don't forget to mention my pay raise." He counted our golden coins into his pouch, then took up his pole. He warbled something that sounded like a Barry Manilow song as he ferried the empty barge back across the river.

We followed the spirits up a well-worn path. I'm not sure what I was expecting-Pearly Gates, or a big black portcullis, or something. But the entrance to the Underworld looked like a cross between airport security and the Jersey Turnpike. There were three separate entrances under one huge black archway that said YOU ARE NOW ENTERING EREBUS. Each entrance had a pass-through metal detector with security cameras mounted on top. Beyond this were tollbooths manned by black-robed ghouls like Charon.

The howling of the hungry animal was really loud now, but I couldn't see where it was coming from. The three-headed dog, Cerberus, who was supposed to guard Hades's door, was nowhere to be seen. The dead queued up in the three lines, two marked ATTENDANT ON DUTY, and one marked EZ DEATH. The EZ DEATH line was moving right along. The other two were crawling.

"What do you figure?" I asked Annabeth to keep some conversation up.

"The fast line must go straight to the Asphodel Fields," she said. "No contest. They don't want to risk judgment from the court, because it might go against them."

A couple of black-robbed ghouls had pulled aside one spirit and were frisking him at the security desk. The face of the dead man looked vaguely familiar.

"He's that preacher who made the news, remember?" Grover asked.

"Oh, yeah." I did remember now. We'd seen him on TV a couple of times at the Yancy Academy dorm. He was this annoying televangelist from upstate New York who'd raised millions of dollars for orphanages and then got caught spending the money on stuff for his mansion, like gold-plated toilet seats, and an indoor putt-putt golf course. He'd died in a police chase when his "Lamborghini for the Lord" went off a cliff.

#Special punishment from Hades for him. Oh, and by the way, I think Hades is letting you and your friends enter easily Percy.#

'Wait. What?'

#There is no way he hasn't sensed you by now. You are in his domain Percy and you're too powerful to go unnoticed. Even if you weren't mine and Hestia's champion he would've noticed you enter.#

'So, he is waiting for us?'

#Most likely.#

We got closer to the gates. The howling was so loud now it shook the ground at my feet, but I still couldn't figure out where it was coming from. My senses were going haywire in here. Then, about fifty feet in front of us, the green mist shimmered. Standing just where the path split into three lanes was an enormous shadowy monster. I hadn't seen it before because it was half transparent, like the dead. Until it moved, it blended with whatever was behind it. Only its eyes and teeth looked solid. And it was staring straight at me.

#The Cerberus. Do not kill it Percy. It will just cause you problems.#

'Then how the fuck am I going to go past it? I am not shadow travelling in front of witnesses neither am I leaving my friends.'

#I am not telling you to do that. I am telling you to go ahead without a confrontation.#

'How?'

#Well, the Cerberus is still a dog. Play fetch.#

'You're crazy. You should get yourself checked. This is not a puppy Alexander. This is one of the most dangerous monsters to walk here.'

#I know. But, I also know that my plan will work.#

'Can't we just play music?' I asked. 'Harry did that in the—'

#Shut up Percy. That was fiction. This is real. And no. Music won't put the Cerberus to sleep.# Alexander replied as I and my friends trudged ahead.

The dead walked right up to the Cerberus-no fear at all. The ATTENDANT ON DUTY lines parted on either side of him. The EZ DEATH spirits walked right between his front paws and under his belly, which they could do without even crouching.

The dog's middle head craned toward us. It sniffed the air and growled. "It can smell the living," I said. "Hey Annabeth. Do you know to play fetch with dogs."

"I have done it when I was a little girl. My dad had a Doberman." She said still looking at the dog with fear and a calculative gleam in her eyes, no doubt figuring out a plan to get past the Cerberus.

"Superb, you are going to do just that." I said with a grin.

"Are you serious?" She asked.

"Yep. Cerberus is a dog at the end of the day. It will play fetch. You're going to do that. That is unless you have a better idea."

She shook her head after a few moments.

"Does anyone have a ball?" Grover asked, apparently agreeing to the plan as we moved toward the monster.

The middle head snarled at us, then barked so loud my eyeballs rattled.

"Can you understand it?" I asked Grover.

"Oh yeah," he said. "I can understand it."

"What's it saying?"

"I don't think humans have a four-letter word that translates, exactly."

Annabeth was frozen. It seemed that I had to do the work again.

I looked around and saw a bone on the ground and picked it up. I held it up, and tried to channel happy dog thoughts toward Cerberus-Alpo commercials, cute little puppies, fire hydrants. I tried to smile.

"Hey, Big Fella," I called up. "I bet they don't play with you much."

"GROWWWLLLL!"

"Good boy," I said weakly. I waved the bone. The dog's middle head followed the movement. The other two heads trained their eyes on me, completely ignoring the spirits. I had Cerberus's undivided attention. I wasn't sure that was a good thing.

"Fetch!" I threw the stick into the gloom, a good solid throw. I heard it go ker-sploosh in the River Styx.

Oops.

#Percy.# Alexander groaned.

Cerberus glared at me, unimpressed. His eyes were baleful and cold.

Cerberus was now making a new kind of growl, deeper down in his three throats.

"Um," Grover said. "Percy?"

"Yeah?"

"I just thought you'd want to know."

"Yeah?"

"Cerberus? He's saying we've got ten seconds to pray to the god of our choice. After that... well... he's hungry."

"Wait!" Annabeth said suddenly. She started rifling through her pack.

Uh-oh. I thought.

"Five seconds," Grover said. "Do we run now?"

Annabeth produced a red rubber ball the size of a grapefruit. It was labeled WATERLAND, DENVER, CO. Before I could tell her anything, she raised the ball and marched straight up to Cerberus.

She shouted, "See the ball? You want the ball, Cerberus? Sit!"

Cerberus looked as stunned as we were. All three of his heads cocked sideways. Six nostrils dilated.

"Sit!" Annabeth called again.

'Well,' I thought to Alexander. 'The girl has got some guts.'

#That she does.# Alexander said in agreement. #But, you got to help the girl. Extend your war domain aura.#

I did as he asked, willing the dog to follow Annabeth's command.

Cerberus licked his three sets of lips, shifted on his haunches, and sat, immediately crushing a dozen spirits who'd been passing underneath him in the EZ DEATH line. The spirits made muffled hisses as they dissipated, like the air let out of tires.

Annabeth said, "Good boy!"

She threw Cerberus the ball. He caught it in his middle mouth. It was barely big enough for him to chew, and the other heads started snap-ping at the middle, trying to get the new toy.

"Drop it.'" Annabeth ordered. Cerberus's heads stopped fighting and looked at her. The ball was wedged between two of his teeth like a tiny piece of gum. He made a loud, scary whimper, then dropped the ball, now slimy and bitten nearly in half, at Annabeth's feet.

"Good boy." She picked up the ball, ignoring the monster spit all over it.

She turned toward us. "Go now. EZ DEATH line-it's faster."

I said, "But-"

"Now.'" She ordered, in the same tone she was using on the dog. I felt her using Athena's war-command domain like I used Alexander's but mine was loads more powerful if needed.

Grover and I inched forward warily. Cerberus started to growl.

"Stay!" Annabeth ordered the monster. "If you want the ball, stay!"

Cerberus whimpered, but he stayed where he was.

"What about you?" I asked Annabeth as we passed her.

"I know what I'm doing, Percy," she muttered. "At least, I'm pretty sure..."

Grover and I walked between the monster's legs. Please, Annabeth, I prayed. Don't tell him to sit again. We made it through. Cerberus wasn't any less scary-looking from the back.

Annabeth said, "Good dog!" She held up the tattered red ball, and probably came to the same conclusion I did-if she rewarded Cerberus, there'd be nothing left for another trick. She threw the ball anyway. The monster's left mouth immediately snatched it up, only to be attacked by the middle head, while the right head moaned in protest. While the monster was distracted, Annabeth walked briskly under its belly and joined us at the metal detector.

"You were brilliant there Annabeth." I complimented and she blushed.

"Come on."

We were about to bolt through the EZ DEATH line when Cerberus moaned pitifully from all three mouths. Annabeth stopped. She turned to face the dog, which had done a one-eighty to look at us. Cerberus panted expectantly, the tiny red ball in pieces in a puddle of drool at its feet.

"Good boy," Annabeth said, but her voice sounded melancholy and uncertain. The monster's heads turned sideways, as if worried about her. "I'll bring you another ball soon," Annabeth promised faintly. "Would you like that?

The monster whimpered. I didn't need to speak dog to know Cerberus was still waiting for the ball. "Good dog. I'll come visit you soon. I-I promise." Annabeth turned to us.

#Poor doggy.#

"Let's go." Grover and I pushed through the metal detector, which immediately screamed and set off flashing red lights.

"Unauthorized possessions! Magic detected!"

Cerberus started to bark. We burst through the EZ DEATH gate, which started even more alarms blaring, and raced into the Underworld. A few minutes later, we were hiding, out of breath, in the rotten trunk of an immense black tree as security ghouls scuttled past, yelling for backup from the Furies.

We waited for the ghouls to pass. I pretended not to see Annabeth wipe a tear from her cheek as she listened to the mournful keening of Cerberus in the distance, longing for his new friend.

Soon, we moved, sneaking towards the palace of Hades. We saw the fields of punishment, Asphodel and Elysium.

Asphodel looked plain and boring. It was like a football field where thousands had gathered for a highly awaited match and then the match had been cancelled. The dead weren't scary. They were just sad.

Elysium looked like a city straight from dreams. It was a small valley surrounded by walls— a gated community, which seemed to be the only happy part of the Underworld. Beyond the security gate were neighborhoods of beautiful houses from every time period in history, Roman villas and medieval castles and Victorian mansions. Silver and gold flowers bloomed on the lawns. The grass rippled in rainbow colors. I could hear laughter and smell barbecue cooking.

In the middle of that valley was a glittering blue lake, with three small islands like a vacation resort in the Bahamas. The Isles of the Blest, for people who had chosen to be reborn three times, and three times achieved Elysium.

The fields of punishment on the other hand looked like a torture house... it was a torture house. It was a vast, cracked wasteland with rivers of lava and minefields and miles of barbed wire separating the different torture areas. Even from far away, I could see people being chased by hellhounds, burned at the stake, forced to run naked through cactus patches or listen to opera music. I could just make out a tiny hill, with the ant-size figure of Sisyphus struggling to move his boulder to the top. And I saw worse tortures, too-things I don't want to describe.

After a few miles of walking, we began to hear a familiar screech in the distance. Looming on the horizon was a palace of glittering black obsidian. Above the parapets swirled three dark batlike creatures: the Furies. I got the feeling they were waiting for us.

"I suppose it's too late to turn back," Grover said wistfully.

"We'll be okay." I said, more confident than I was feeling.

#You'll be okay Percy.#

"Maybe we should search some of the other places first," Grover suggested. "Like, Elysium, for instance..."

"Come on, goat boy." Annabeth grabbed his arm. Grover yelped. His sneakers sprouted wings and his legs shot forward, pulling him away from Annabeth. He landed flat on his back in the grass.

"Grover," Annabeth chided. "Stop messing around."

"But I didn't-"

He yelped again. His shoes were flapping like crazy now. They levitated off the ground and started dragging him away from us. "Maia!" he yelled, but the magic word seemed to have no effect. "Maia, already! Nine-one-one! Help!" I got over being stunned and made a grab for Grover's hand, but too late. He was picking up speed, skidding downhill like a bobsled.

We ran after him. Annabeth shouted, "Untie the shoes!" It was a smart idea, but I guess it's not so easy when your shoes are pulling you along feet-first at full speed. Grover tried to sit up, but he couldn't get close to the laces.

I pushed myself to the godly limit and ran at full speed towards Grover.

I was sure Grover was going to barrel straight through the gates of Hades's palace, but his shoes veered sharply to the right and dragged him in the opposite direction. The slope got steeper. Grover picked up speed.

#Percy he's going towards Tartarus. Stop him.#

I ran and lunged after him as my storm-rider appeared in my hand. My left hand grabbed Grover's arm while I used my right to plunge the Riptide in the ground. We were still dragged a few feet ahead. Grover held my arm with both his hands as his shoes tried to drag him towards Tartarus. I held onto my trident in one hand and pulled Grover with another.

A normal trident would have snapped under the strain but, my storm rider was a near-godly weapon by now.

My biceps muscles became under the expensive white shirt I was wearing(I had taken it from the casino). My folded up sleeve was grabbing my upper arm in a vice-like grip.

"Annabeth! Come fast!" I yelled as I struggled to hold Grover. He was slipping as his palms got sweaty.

Annabeth caught up with us and immediately removed Grover's shoes. The shoes sped into the darkness, down into the chasm. That was when I noticed where we were: barely ten meters away from the entrance to Tartarus.

Grover and Annabeth were shivering due to the aura of the pit. My helm and Alexander's presence saved me from the influence.

Grover was scratched up pretty bad. His hands were bleeding. His eyes had gone slit-pupiled, goat style, the way they did whenever he was terrified. "I don't know how..." he panted. "I didn't..."

"Wait," Annabeth said. "Listen."

I heard something-a deep whisper in the darkness.

#Kronos.# Alexander said

Grover sat up. "Wh-what's that noise?"

I converted my trident to my sword and spiked my own aura of hope and calm.

The evil voice seemed to falter, just for a moment, before resuming its chant. I could almost make out words now, ancient, ancient words, older even than Greek. As if... "Magic," I said.

#Percy. Take your friends and RUN!#

"Let's get the hell out of here." I told my friends and hauled Grover to his feet.

"My bag feels like it weights a ton." Grover groaned.

"Give it here and let us get going." I said, taking Ares's bag from Grover and slung it on my shoulder. It was heavy, but, nothing I couldn't handle with ease.

Together, we dragged Grover to his hooves and started back up the tunnel. Our legs wouldn't move fast enough. The voice got louder and angrier behind us, and we broke into a run. Not a moment too soon.

A cold blast of wind pulled at our backs, as if the entire pit were inhaling. For a terrifying moment, I lost ground, my feet slipping in the gravel. If we'd been any closer to the edge, we would've been sucked in. We kept struggling forward, and finally reached the top of the tunnel, where the cavern widened out into the Fields of Asphodel. The wind died. A wail of outrage echoed from deep in the tunnel. Kronos was not happy we'd gotten away.

"What was that?" Grover panted, when we'd collapsed in the relative safety of a black poplar grove. "One of Hades's pets?"

Annabeth and I looked at each other. I could tell she had put the dots together. She had realized that it was the crooked one.

I returned my sword to its band form. "Let's keep going." I looked at Grover. "Can you walk?" He swallowed.

"Yeah, sure. I never liked those shoes, anyway." He grumbled.

The shoes... someone had cursed them. But, who? It had to be a divine being. So, Luke himself was out of question... but, then again, someone could have given him the shoes to give it to us... willingly or unwillingly was the question here. Or he could simply have been tricked.

#We can ponder about that later Percy. For now, we need to go.# Alexander commanded. #Reach the palace. Tell Hades everything you know about this quest Percy. Even your suspicions about Kronos. Swear on the Styx if needed.# Alexander said.

The Furies circled the parapets, high in the gloom. The outer walls of the fortress glittered black, and the two-story-tall bronze gates stood wide open. Up close, I saw that the engravings on the gates were scenes of death. Some were from modern times- an atomic bomb exploding over a city, a trench filled with gas mask-wearing soldiers, a line of African famine victims waiting with empty bowls-but all of them looked as if they'd been etched into the bronze thousands of years ago. I wondered if I was looking at prophecies that had come true.

Inside the courtyard was the strangest garden I'd ever seen. Multicolored mushrooms, poisonous shrubs, and weird luminous plants grew without sunlight. Precious jewels made up for the lack of flowers, piles of rubies as big as my fist, clumps of raw diamonds. Standing here and there like frozen party guests were Medusa's garden statues- petrified children, satyrs, and centaurs-all smiling grotesquely. In the center of the garden was an orchard of pomegranate trees, their orange blooms neon bright in the dark.

"The garden of Persephone," Annabeth said. "Keep walking."

I remembered the story of Persephone. One bite of Underworld food, and we would never be able to leave. I pulled Grover away to keep him from picking a big juicy one.

We walked up the steps of the palace, between black columns, through a black marble portico, and into the house of Hades. The entry hall had a polished bronze floor, which seemed to boil in the reflected torchlight. There was no ceiling, just the cavern roof, far above. I guess they never had to worry about rain down here. Every side doorway was guarded by a skeleton in military gear. Some wore Greek armor, some British redcoat uniforms, some camouflage with tattered American flags on the shoulders. They carried spears or muskets or M-16s. None of them bothered us, but their hollow eye sockets followed us as we walked down the hall, toward the big set of doors at the opposite end. Two U.S. Marine skeletons guarded the doors. They grinned down at us, rocket-propelled grenade launchers held across their chests.

I knocked the door loudly and a hot wind blew down the corridor, and the doors swung open. The guards stepped aside.

"I guess that means we can enter." Annabeth said.

We entered into an ornate throne room. Hades sat tall on a throne like a king which he was. He was the third god I'd met (except for Alexander) but the first who really struck me as godlike.

He was at least ten feet tall, for one thing, and dressed in black silk robes and a crown of braided gold. His skin was albino white, his hair shoulder-length and jet black. He wasn't bulked up like Ares, but he radiated power. He lounged on his throne of fused human bones, looking lithe, graceful, and dangerous as a panther.

The Lord of the Dead resembled pictures I'd seen of Adolph Hitler, or Napoleon, or the terrorist leaders who direct suicide bombers. Hades had the same intense eyes, the same kind of mesmerizing, evil charisma

#He hasn't changed one bit.# Alexander said.

"Uncle Hades." I said with a bow unfazed by the god's aura.

"You are brave to come here, Son of Poseidon," he said in an oily voice. "After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply very foolish."

I blinked. "I am sorry for killing your furies uncle Hades... but, I did not fancy dying so soon at their hands neither could I let my friends die." I said in an apologetic tone.

Hades looked at me with no expressions on his face.

"We have reached here after several trials and I plead you to hear us out Uncle." I requested politely.

Hades raised an eyebrow.

"I merely ask you whether you will be willing to help us return your brother's Master Bolt to Olympus in order to prevent a war."

The throne room shook with a tremor so strong, they probably felt it upstairs in Los Angeles. Debris fell from the cavern ceiling. Doors burst open all along the walls, and skeletal warriors marched in, hundreds of them, from every time period and nation in Western civilization. They lined the perimeter of the room, blocking the exits.

Grover and Annabeth stepped back looking terrified. I didn't as much as spared a glance at the dead-soldiers that had filled the room and maintained eye contact with Hades.

Hades eyes were glowing brightly. "Do you think that I want war godling?" He boomed.

"You are the Lord of the Dead," Annabeth said carefully. "A war would expan—mmpgh." I stopped her from completing her sentence by muffling her mouth with my hand. I shot her a glare telling her to shut it.

"I am not accusing you of anything uncle." I replied to his statement as I turned back towards him. "I am merely requesting your help to prevent a war."

#I am sure you know what a war would mean for your realm.# Alexander prompted.

"I am sure you know what a war would mean for your realm." I added.

"Yes! You see now! Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel Fields? Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone, how many subdivisions I've had to open?" The lord of the dead ranted.

"More security ghouls," he moaned. "Traffic problems at the judgment pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. I control all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!"

"Yes sir, even Charon wants a pay-rise." I said, fulfilling my promise to Charon.

"Don't get me started on Charon!" Hades yelled. "He's been impossible ever since he discovered Italian suits! Problems everywhere, and I've got to handle all of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates is enough to drive me insane! And the dead just keep arriving. No, godling. I need no help getting subjects! I did not ask for this war."

"I know uncle. I knew it as soon as I saw the traffic of souls in here." I replied in a sympathetic tone.

"Then what do you want from me sea spawn? Why have you came here?" Hades snapped.

"We came here to request you to return the master bolt Lord Hades." Annabeth said before I could stop her.

"And then we will be out of your hair milord." Grover added.

"LIES!" Hades bellowed. "YOU DARE ACCUSE ME OF STEALING THE BOLT WHILE MY HELM OF DARKNESS IS MISSING!"

Mine and Alexander's speculations had been proved true. The helm of darkness was missing too.

The earth shook. The skeletons aimed their weapons. From high above, there was a fluttering of leathery wings, and the three Furies swooped down to perch on the back of their master's throne. The one with Mrs. Dodds's face grinned at me eagerly and flicked her whip

"But..." Annabeth spoke. I could tell her mind was going a million miles an hour. "Lord Hades, your helm of darkness is missing, too?"

"Do not play innocent with me, girl. You and the satyr have been helping this hero-coming here to threaten me in Poseidon's name, no doubt-to bring me an ultimatum. Does Poseidon think I can be blackmailed into supporting him?"

"Excuse me!?" I said flabbergasted.

Hades turned to me, his eyes glowing brightly. "You were the thief on the winter solstice," he said. "Your father thought to keep you his little secret. He directed you into the throne room on Olympus, You took the master bolt and my helm. Had I not sent my Fury to discover you at Yancy Academy, Poseidon might have succeeded in hiding his scheme to start a war. But now you have been forced into the open. You will be exposed as Poseidon's thief, and I will have my helm back!"

I felt rage grip me. How dare he accuse me and my dad?

"Shut up." I growled. His eyes narrowed at me.

"You tell me to shut up, when you already have the master bolt with you? Don't play the fool with me, Percy Jackson! You have been caught red-handed." He shouted. "You came here with it, little fool, thinking you could you threaten me!"

"I don't have the bolt or your helm." I snapped back.

"Don't you? Check your bag then."

A horrible feeling struck me. The weight in Grover's backpack, like a bowling ball. It couldn't be... I slung it off my shoulder and unzipped it. Inside was a two-foot-long metal cylinder, spiked on both ends, humming with energy.

"Percy... Grover..." Annabeth said. "How-"

"I-I don't know. I don't understand." Grover said.

'Alexander? What is this?'

#The bolt appeared in the bag as you hauled the satyr to his feet. It is like the riptide which returns to your pocket... but I think the magic was tampered with.#

'Why didn't you tell me!?'

#Your shock needed to be genuine. And I realized it as you knocked the doors. Till then, I was recovering from my father's influence myself like you and your friends were. I had shielded you all against the worse of it. But, now we know the thief... he was the one who gave you the bag, didn't he?#

"Ares." I growled out loud.

"You heroes are always the same," Hades said ignoring us. "Your pride makes you foolish, thinking you could bring such a weapon before me. I did not ask for Zeus's master bolt, but since it is here, you will yield it to me. I am sure it will make an excellent bargaining tool. And now... my helm. Where is it?"

"You think I stole your helm or the bolt?" I snapped at him, Alexander's helm doing nothing to calm me. Hades was getting on my nerves. "Very well, I swear on the river Styx that I haven't stolen the helm of darkness nor, I have stolen Zeus's master bolt."

Thunder boomed, sealing my vow.

#Awesomely played Percy. Now, convince him to hear us out.#

Hades waited for a minute for something to happen. When nothing happened he looked like a ship whose wind had been taken out of its sails.

"What- wait, you didn't steal my helm?" He asked.

"I just swore on the Styx that I didn't." I said dryly. "But, I may have an idea who did, seeing where the bolt came out from if you would hear me out peacefully." I added.

Hades looked at me with a speculative look and snapped his fingers. The furies and the skeletons cleared the throne room and whatever damage had been done, reversed itself.

"What do you know Percy?" Annabeth asked, looking at the retreating skeletons. "Why didn't you-" She suddenly slumped to the ground as Hades snapped his fingers again.

Grover did the same.

I turned to Hades and the trident appeared in my hands. "What did you do to them?" I asked. Winds picked up in the throne room. The flames in the torches burned brighter.

Hades looked unfazed though. "Calm yourself demigod. I have merely put them to sleep. I shall wake them up later. You have my word godling." He promised.

#Calm down Perce, Hades tells the truth.#

I nodded.

"Now, tell me whom do you suspect Percy Jackson."

"Well, you see, it is a little complicated." I started.

"Then uncomplicate it!" Hades ordered.

"Well, I do not know who stole the bolt and your helm, but, I got this bag from Ares." I said waving the bag which had the master bolt in it. "He gave it to us in Denver with some transportation west. At that time, the bag did not have much except for a few pairs of clothes, some money, and food."

"Ares couldn't have stolen the bolt."

"He didn't. But, he likely caught the thief... the hero who stole the bolt and then... he was likely influenced by a foreign power to do all this."

"What are you suggesting boy?" Hades asked. "Are you saying that Ares, an Olympian god, no less, is being controlled?"

"No. Not controlled. Manipulated... influenced in a way by someone."

"And who might that someone be?"

"Your Father. The crooked one."

Hades stood up from his throne, rising to his full height. "IMPOSSIBLE! YOU LIE GODLING! MY FATHER—"

"Hear me out uncle." I commanded using the power of the war domain.

He stopped in mid sentence and looked at me.

"Sit down please. I am not saying this without proof sir."

"Tell me what you know then. I am listening." He asked as he sat down. "But, this better be worth it."

"Very well. Let me start as our quest started. First our bus was attacked by your furies, whom we three killed as you know. After killing them, we abandoned the bus and went into a forest to protect ourselves from the storm. There we met Medusa. She already knew we were coming. She was waiting for us." I said and Hades raised his eyebrows before telling me to go on.

"I sneaked upon Medusa and killed her from behind before she could realize what was happening. We rested there for the night. That night, I had a dream. In that dream I was in a dark caravan before a pit... which I believe to be Tartarus. It told me that the gods have misled me. It told me to join him. Help him rise by bringing him the bolt."

Hades was sitting in his throne stiffly. But, said nothing. So, I continued. "The next day, we took a train west and travelled. A couple of days later, we stopped at the St. Louis Arch. There, I faced the Chimera and Echidna at the top of the arch."

"Impossible, you should be dead!" Hades exclaimed.

"Well, I am in the underworld, ain't I? But, just alive." I replied cheekily. Hades mumbled about cheeky sea spawns but, I ignored him and continued my tale. "I killed them there. But, the most shocking thing was that—"

"You lie demigod! No mere demigod can singlehandedly kill Echidna." Hades interrupted

"I have the spoils to prove it Uncle, but that is not our topic of discussion." I replied. "Anyways, the most shocking thing was that Echidna said that she was there on Zeus's orders to kill me. And, for all its worth, I don't think Lord Zeus would interfere with a quest to retrieve his own bolt." I said.

"He wouldn't. Actually, if he wanted to kill you, he would just smite you. Not employ a monster like Echidna. He won't fall to such a level." Hades mused.

"True. So, we can agree that a third power was trying to turn me against the gods."

"Yes. What do you have next?"

"So, we took the train to Denver where..." I continued my tale, cutting short a few parts of our journey. I included the dreams I had during it. Hades sat there with a worried look on his face. The most he moved was when he flinched when I took the name of Hotel Lotus and Casino. I noticed it but, did not ask him anything regarding it.

"... But, my biggest proof was when Grover's magical shoes started to act weird and dragged him straight to the entrance of the pit." I narrated what happened there too.

Hades was now pale looking completely white. He got up and started pacing.

"So, you were tricked by Ares, who has my helm... and you think he is acting under the crooked ones influence." Hades concluded.

"Yes sir."

"And what do you want me to do?"

"Help us. Ares likely has your helm of darkness. When we get out of here, he would be waiting for us. He would want the bolt back. You can be our witness and catch him sir. Tell the council what is happening. If your father is rising, Olympus would need to go to war. Of course, you'll get your helm back too after Ares is defeated."

"Why would I do anything to help the Olympians?" He sneered.

"They are your family." I replied.

"A family who doesn't give me the time of their day! A family who ignores me! A family who abandoned me! A family—"

"—is a family uncle, regardless of how they behave. If you abandon them while they need you, you're no better then them! Show them that you're better. Show them that despite them abandoning you, you still care. You are better than them uncle."

"And who're you to lecture me about the importance of family godling?"

"The champion of the goddess of family. I am Hestia's champion uncle." I replied spreading the aura of hope in the throne room. The room brightened. The misery left the room. Even Hades relaxed a little.

"When did this happen?" He asked softly.

"A month or so ago."

He nodded.

"And uncle, I am sure that you want your helm back. So, to get it, you need to help us. Or else, we will fail." I said, trying to convince him.

"Very well. I will bear witness to it for my sister's sake. But, there is another problem. I can not challenge him without consequences. If I fight Ares directly, I may as well declare war on Zeus. Who is going to defeat him then?" He challenged.

Who indeed?

#You Percy. There is no one else.#

"I will challenge him. I will retrieve your helm. But, you need to witness it and tell the Olympians what happened."

Hades laughed. "You're amusing Percy Jackson. And completely off your rocker. You're powerful? Yes, I can feel it. You're skilled? You killing the Minotaur, my furies, Medusa, Echidna and Chimera proves that. But, I do not think that you can beat Ares in a fair fight. Even with mortal limitations on him, he is too-"

"Who said anything about a fair fight uncle?" I interrupted with a smirk.

"And pray tell what is going to give you enough advantage to defeat Ares of all gods?" He asked with an annoyed look.

"The sea is one of course. And the master bolt is another if I need it. If I fight in the waves... my home turf, I do stand a chance to defeat him. And I will make him to swear a vow too."

"You can't use the bolt to a level that'll defeat an Olympian in one shot. That only my little brother can do." Hades stated. "The best you can do with it will be a normal bolt of lightning."

#Water is an excellent conductor of electricity# Alexander said.

"Oh, but, dear uncle, but the sea water is an excellent conductor of Electricity." I replied with a grin.

Hades looked at me seriously. "Your plan is sound Percy Jackson, and for both of our sakes I hope it works. But, if you fail..."

"I won't." I replied.

He looked at me contemplatively. It was as if he was judging my soul.

"Alright." He accepted. "I pray that you are successful Percy Jackson. I will see everything hidden in the shadows and then give my account to the council to support you. How are you reaching the sea though?"

I took a pearl out of my pocket and showed him.

"My brother's pearls. They will take you straight to the sea. Wise. Very well." He snapped his fingers and my friends woke up.

"Wha-" Grover said as Annabeth started analyzing the room.

"Get up." I told them. "And crush the pearls at your feet."

"Percy what..." Annabeth said.

"It is a long story. I'll tell it to you afterwards. Take out the pearl." I told her.

I turned to Hades. "Good bye uncle."

He gave me a nod.

"Crush the pearls. 3...2...1 NOW."

We crushed the pearls at our feet. The pearl fragments at my feet exploded with a burst of green light and a gust of fresh sea wind. I was encased in a milky white sphere, which was starting to float off the ground.

"Good luck godlings. Bring my helm back or I'll send you to the fields of punishment." Hades called out. Seriously.

"Look up.'" Grover suddenly yelled. "We're going to crash!"

Sure enough, we were racing right toward the stalactites, which looked like they would pop our bubbles and skewer us.

"How do you control these things?" Annabeth shouted.

"You don't!" I shouted back.

The bubbles slammed into the ceiling and... Darkness.

For a few moments, I couldn't see anything outside the smooth walls of my sphere, then my pearl broke through on the ocean floor. The two other milky spheres, Annabeth and Grover, kept pace with me as we soared upward through the water. And-ker-blam!

We exploded on the surface, in the middle of the Santa Monica Bay, knocking a surfer off his board with an indignant, "Dude!"

I grabbed Grover and hauled him over to a life buoy. I caught Annabeth and dragged her over too. A curious shark was circling us, a great white about eleven feet long.

I said, "Beat it." The shark turned and raced away.

The surfer screamed something about bad mushrooms and paddled away from us as fast as he could. I knew what time it was: early morning, June 21, the day of the summer solstice... Dawn had just broken.

Time was a little different in the underworld apparently.

We needed to act fast now.

We swam to the shore. After reaching dry land, we stumbled down the beach, watching the city burn against a beautiful sunrise. I felt as if I'd just come back from the dead-which I had. My back-pack was heavy with Zeus's master bolt. My heart was beating with anticipation.

#Well done Percy. You were a brilliant diplomat for a kid.#

'Yeah. Thanks I guess.'

"What happened there Percy?" Annabeth asked. "What happened with Hades."

"I told him our story. I explained how Ares tricked us. How he is the thief acting under the influence of the Titan king... The voice in the pit was his. I guess he is manipulating Ares." I replied. "Oh, and speaking of Ares, here he comes."

There he was, waiting for us, in his black leather duster and his sunglasses, an aluminum baseball bat propped on his shoulder. His motorcycle rumbled beside him, its head-light turning the sand red.

"Hey, kid," Ares said, seeming genuinely pleased to see me. "You were supposed to die."

"Sorry to disappoint you." I said sarcastically. "But, it doesn't change the fact that you stole the bolt and the helm."

Ares grinned. "Well, now, I didn't steal them personally. Gods taking each other's symbols of power that's a big no-no. But you're not the only hero in the world who can run errands."

"Who did you use? Clarisse? She was there at the winter solstice." I asked, knowing that it likely wasn't Clarisse.

The idea seemed to amuse him. "Doesn't matter. The point is, kid, you're impeding the war effort. See, you've got to die in the Underworld. Then Old Seaweed will be mad at Hades for killing you. Corpse Breath will have Zeus's master bolt, so Zeus'll be mad at him. And Hades is still looking for this..." From his pocket he took out a ski cap-the kind bank robbers wear-and placed it between the handlebars of his bike. Immediately, the cap transformed into an elaborate bronze war helmet.

"The helm of darkness," Grover gasped.

"Exactly," Ares said. "Now where was I? Oh yeah, Hades will be mad at both Zeus and Poseidon, because he doesn't know who took this. Pretty soon, we got a nice little three-way slugfest going."

"But they're your family!" Annabeth protested.

Ares shrugged. "Best kind of war. Always the bloodiest. Nothing like watching your relatives fight, I always say."

"You gave us the backpack in Denver," Annabeth said. "The master bolt was in there the whole time."

"Yes and no," Ares said. "It's probably too complicated for your little mortal brain to follow, but the backpack is the master bolt's sheath, just morphed a bit. The bolt is connected to it, sort of like that sword this kid has got. It always returns to your pocket, right?"

He was talking about the riptide. So, I nodded.

"Anyway," Ares continued, "I tinkered with the magic a bit, so the bolt would only return to the sheath once you reached the Underworld. You get close to Hades... Bingo, you got mail. If you died along the way-no loss. I still had the weapon."

"But why not just keep the master bolt for yourself?" I asked looking for his reaction. "Why send it to Hades?"

Ares got a twitch in his jaw. For a moment, it was almost as if he were listening to another voice, deep inside his head. Kronos's influence.

"Why didn't I... yeah... with that kind of fire-power..."

He held the trance for one second... two seconds... I exchanged nervous looks with Annabeth.

Ares's face cleared. "I didn't want the trouble. Better to have you caught red-handed, holding the thing."

"You're lying," I said. "Sending the bolt to the Underworld wasn't your idea, was it?"

"Of course it was!" Smoke drifted up from his sun-glasses, as if they were about to catch fire.

"You didn't order the theft," I said. "Someone else sent a hero to steal the two items. Then, when Zeus sent you to hunt him down, you caught the thief. But you didn't turn him over to Zeus. Something convinced you to let him go. You kept the items until another hero could come along and complete the delivery. You are being manipulated Ares."

"I am the god of war! I take orders from no one! I can not be manipulated! I don't have dreams!"

"Who said anything about dreams?" I asked.

Ares looked agitated, but he tried to cover it with a smirk. "Let's get back to the problem at hand, kid. You're alive. I can't have you taking that bolt to Olympus. You just might get those hardheaded idiots to listen to you. So I've got to kill you. Nothing personal."

He snapped his fingers. The sand exploded at his feet and out charged a wild boar, even larger and uglier than the one whose head hung above the door of cabin seven at Camp Half-Blood. The beast pawed the sand, glaring at me with beady eyes as it lowered its razor-sharp tusks and waited for the command to kill. I stepped into the surf.

"Fight me yourself, Ares." I said.

He laughed, but I heard a little edge to his laughter... an uneasiness "You don't have what it takes kid."

He was afraid to fight me... atleast that is what I thought.

"Scared?" I asked.

"In your adolescent dreams." But his sunglasses were starting to melt from the heat of his eyes. "No direct involvement. Sorry, kid. You're not at my level."

Annabeth said, "Percy, run!" The giant boar charged.

As the boar rushed me, I commanded the storm rider to appear and side-stepped. The sword appeared in my hands. I slashed upward. The boar's severed right tusk fell at my feet, while the disoriented animal charged into the sea.

I shouted, "Wave!" Immediately, a wave surged up from nowhere and engulfed the boar, wrapping around it like a blanket. The beast squealed once in terror. Then it was gone, swallowed by the sea.

I turned back to Ares. "Are you going to fight me now?" I asked. "Or are you going to hide behind another pet?"

Ares's face was purple with rage. "Watch it, kid. I could turn you into—"

"A cockroach," I said. "Or a tapeworm. Yeah, I'm sure. That'd save you from getting your godly hide whipped, wouldn't it?"

Flames danced along the top of his glasses. "Oh, man, you are really asking to be smashed into a grease spot."

"Come on Ares. Let us make a deal. If I win, you give me the helm, a favor and never seek retribution on me or my friends. If you win, you can turn us into anything you want and you get the bolt."

He sneered.

He swung the baseball bat off his shoulder. "How would you like to get smashed: classic or modern?"

"Swear our deal on the Styx first Ares."

"As if you'd win." He sneered. "But, for your amusement, I swear by the Styx on your terms. Happy?"

"Awesome." I said with a grin.

"Percy." Annabeth warned but I ignored her.

"I ask again now, how would you like to get smashed: classic or modern?"

I showed him my storm-rider.

"That's cool, dead boy," he said. "Classic it is." The baseball bat changed into a huge, two-handed sword. The hilt was a large silver skull with a ruby in its mouth.

"Percy," Annabeth said. "Don't do this. He's a god."

"I have no other option." I told her.

She swallowed. "Wear this, at least. For luck." She took off her necklace, with her five years' worth of camp beads and the ring from her father, and tied it around my neck.

"Reconciliation," she said. "Athena and Poseidon together."

"Thanks." I said, as my cap turned into a war helmet... The warrior's crown. It probably looked weird without an armor... but, meh, who cared? An armor would only hinder me unless it was custom made.

"And take this," Grover said. He handed me a flattened tin can that he'd probably been saving in his pocket for a thousand miles. "The satyrs stand behind you."

"Thank you."

I turned to face Ares.

"You all done saying goodbye?" Ares came toward me, his black leather duster trailing behind him, his sword glinting like fire in the sunrise. "I've been fighting for eternity, kid. My strength is unlimited and I cannot die. What have you got?

#A god of war who is older and awesomer than you.#

'Awesomer isn't a word.' I told Alexander dryly.

#I invented it. Whip his butt my protégé. I will help if needed.#

I kept my feet in the surf, backing into the water up to my ankles.

#Ares has strength. That's all he has. He doesn't rely on tactics. He relies on brute force and instincts. You need to defeat him with your mind. Go full out Percy. I will help whenever needed. Show him why you are my student.#

The storm-rider glinted in my hand. I spun the sword and made a come get me motion at Ares.

Ares charged. He cleaved downward at my head, but I wasn't there.

My body thought for me. My instincts took over. My training came into practice.

The water pushed me into the air and I catapulted over him, slashing as I came down. But ,Ares was just as quick. He twisted, and the strike that should've caught him directly in the spine was deflected off the end of his sword hilt.

He grinned. "Not bad, not bad."

I attacked again, at speeds that only a god could muster. I pushed Ares back, deeper into the surf. He attacked back with equal ferocity, but, I could tell that he was shocked by my skills. I evaded each and every attack with ease. But, Ares did the same. We went back and forth for a whole ten minutes with none of us managing to land a hit. I could tell that Ares wasn't fooling around and taking me seriously.

Our swords clashed and clanged, but none of us managed a hit. That was when he did some trick I had never seen and managed to score a thin gash on my abdomen. He would have skewered me, if my instincts hadn't taken over.

Had I not been in the ocean, I actually would have been skewered a couple of times by now. The ocean was enhancing me. I could tell that my father was helping me by making it easier for me to command the sea as I needed, saving my energy. Alexander hadn't stepped in so far. It wasn't needed. I didn't have to kill Ares. Only defeat him.

The gash healed immediately. It was a thin one and I was standing in the sea. I engaged him again.

The problem was, he had the longer blade. His sword was a feet longer than the storm-rider.

When you've got the shorter blade, get in close. I remembered Alexander's lessons.

I did just that but, Ares seemed ready for it and swung his sword to behead me but, I slowed time down and ducked under the blade and punched him in the gut with an Earthquake fist.

Ares went flying into the ocean. I willed the ocean to hold him down and enveloped him in a sphere of water. The sea was energizing me constantly. I held the sphere for

Suddenly there was a huge wave of power from Ares and next, I was airborne. I went airborne-twenty, maybe thirty feet. I would've broken my back if I hadn't crashed into the soft sand of a dune.

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "Cops!" I ignored her and the cops though. A little mist manipulation would take care of the mortals.

I was seeing double though. My chest felt like it had just been hit with a battering ram, but I managed to get to my feet and spat out a glob of blood. Suddenly the pain was gone. I could see properly. I was healed.

Alexander had healed me.

I thrust my hand out and my sword flew back to me.

Ares was wading out of the sea completely wet and haggard. He wiped his face. His sunglasses had melted off and nuclear explosions were going on in his eye-holes.

Ares sneered. "You're good kid. Excellent actually. It is a shame I will have to kill you."

We both charged at each other.

"There, officer!" somebody yelled. "See?"

"That guy's armed," another cop said. "Call for backup."

I rolled to one side as Ares's blade slashed the sand and tried to stab Ares in the thigh. He deflected my sword and kicked the blade out of my hands.

He tried to cleave me in half but I rolled out of the way and sprang up. Hestia's dagger appeared in my hands, lit on fire. I channeled energy into it and fire shot from the dagger like a flame thrower at Ares's face. He shielded it with his vambraces though.

I was waiting for just that. I closed the distance and kicked him, sending him flying into the sea... again.

I ran towards the turf as my sword flew back to me.

More sirens wailed in a distance.

I willed the sea to envelope Ares got up again as I entered the sea. He let out a wave of power again and I was about to hit the ground but a wall of energy absorbed the impact. It came from a shadow a few feet away.

Hades.

Ares got up, glaring at me. He raised his sword.

A police voice on a megaphone said, "Drop the guns.' Set them on the ground. Now!"

The mist was making them see things.

Ares turned to glare at our spectators, which gave me a moment to breathe, plan and advance.

There were five police cars now, and a line of officers crouching behind them, pistols trained on us.

"This is a private matter!" Ares bellowed. "Be gone.'" He swept his hand, and a wall of red flame rolled across the patrol cars. The police barely had time to dive for cover before their vehicles exploded. The crowd behind them scattered, screaming.

He turned to me. "Let us add you to the barbeque Percy Jackson."

He slashed and I met his sword with my own. The force of the clash send a mini-shockwave around us. The bones in my arm rattled but I held on.

We started fighting in the earnest. I used the sea to push him back, deeper into the sea. I got close enough to strike, tried to fake him out with a feint, but my blow was knocked aside. The waves were hitting me in the back now.

Ares was waist deep too in the sea, being six and a half feet tall compared to my five feet seven inches.

I felt the rhythm of the sea, the waves growing larger as the tide rolled in, and suddenly I had an idea. Little waves, I thought. And the water behind me seemed to recede. I was holding back the tide by force of will, but tension was building, like carbonation behind a cork. Ares came toward, grinning confidently. I lowered my blade, as if I were too exhausted to go on.

#Knock him out Percy. Channel your earthquake power through the swords hilt and smash it on his head#

'Got it'

Wait for it, I told the sea. The pressure now was almost lifting me off my feet. Ares raised his sword. I released the tide and jumped, rocketing straight towards Ares on a wave.

A six-foot wall of water smashed him full in the face, leaving him cursing and sputtering with a mouth full of sea-weed. I landed behind him with a splash and feinted toward his torso.

He raised his sword on instinct but, I jumped and smashed my sword's hilt on his head with my earthquake powers.

He stumbled back, swaying on his feet completely disoriented.

Then I felt the worse feeling ever. It was as if a cloud covered the sun, but worse. Light faded. Sound and color drained away. A cold, heavy presence passed over the beach, slowing time, dropping the temperature to freezing.

I ignored it and punched Ares on his face with another earthquake fist, knocking him out. This time, he flew towards the land but, still landed in the sea. I used the waves to hurl him out and walked onto the land myself.

The darkness had lifted.

I had to convert my sword to the trident and use it as a crutch to keep me from falling over as I stumbled onto the land. I was exhausted and the sea's boost had abandoned me as soon as I stepped out of the turf. My muscles burned as adrenaline left me. Continuously channeling power had left me burning and sore. I could tell I had been fighting for twenty-four whole minutes. None of mine and Alexander's all-out spar had ever lasted more than eighteen minutes... ever. And that was one time, a few months ago. Our average time was ten to twelve minutes, while going all out.

I saw police cars were burning in a distance ahead. The crowd of spectators had fled. Annabeth and Grover stood on the beach, in shock, watching Ares's unconscious form.

#Well done Percy. Well done. I am so proud.#

'I had help. From you and my father.'

#I just fastened your healing Percy. No more. And your father was just making the sea more tamable. You still have divine energy left in you Percy. Learn to take credit where it is due.#

'Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say.'

I walked towards the Harley and picked the helm of darkness. I could feel its power. It was some dozen times more powerful than the warrior's crown.

I walked towards my friends who jumped and screamed as Hades suddenly appeared beside them, popping out of their shadows. I could see a small smirk on Hades' face as he scared my friends. But, his eyes held worry and anxiety. He snapped his fingers. Nothing happened though.

#He used mist manipulation Percy so that you aren't put into a police case. And, the evil feeling you felt before you knocked Ares out was Kronos. Hades is worried.#

I gave him a mental nod as I walked towards my friends and the lord of the dead.

"Uncle, your helm." I said presenting him the helm of darkness. He accepted it gratefully and closed his eyes, a smile adorning his face.

"Percy..." Grover said. "That was so incredible..."

"Terrifying," said Annabeth.

"Cool!" Grover corrected.

I smiled at them weakly.

I suddenly heard the flapping of wings. The three furies landed beside us. The middle Fury, the one who had been Mrs. Dodds, stepped forward. Her fangs were bared, but for once she didn't look threatening. She looked more disappointed, as if she'd been planning to have me for supper, but had decided I might give her indigestion. "We saw the whole thing," she hissed in explanation.

She then ran a forked tongue over her green, leathery lips. "Live well, Percy Jackson. Become a true hero. Because if you do not, if you ever come into my clutches again..." She cackled, savoring the idea. Then she and her sisters rose on their bats' wings, fluttered into the smoke-filled sky, and disappeared.

I looked at Hades. "Care to explain why your three old demon grandmas were here uncle?"

He chuckled in amusement. "I will need to remember that name Nephew. I had called them as backup to snatch my helm away from Ares in case you failed. But, you did well. Very well nephew. I never expected you to actually win without using my brother's bolt... but, you did. And it was spectacular Nephew. I must admit that you've impressed me dear Nephew. Not many have done so in all my years. You have my gratitude for returning the helm." He praised.

I was shocked by the praise. So was Alexander.

"Th-thank you." I stammered.

"But, I wish to know something. How could you punch Ares like you did? No mortal can punch that hard to send Ares of all gods flying into the air."

"A normal punch can't uncle. But, a punch capable of causing earthquakes can." I replied.

He blinked before he nodded in an impressed manner.

"I will take him." He said after a few moments of silence, gesturing towards the unconscious form of Ares. "You reach Olympus and pray to me. I will come."

"Uncle. Wait." I said. "Can't you shadow transport us to Olympus? Or else we wouldn't be able to reach in time."

"That would be interfering with the quest Nephew. I am sorry." He said shaking his head.

"What about a sacrifice for the favor of transporting us?"

"The sacrifice should be worthy enough." Hades stated.

"Would Medusa's head do?" I asked.

He nodded.

"But, I don't think you should go to Olympus in this way. All three of you need to change into something better. You can not go to meet the gods looking like a homeless person."

We looked at our attire. Our clothes were in deplorable states. They were torn, muddy, wet and wrinkled.

"Go and take a shower there." He said, pointing to a bath house. "I will be waiting and have this one chained up. Go. And do it fast."

Almost fifteen minutes later we came back. I was wearing denims and a black silk shirt I had taken from the casino. Annabeth was wearing jeans and a camp half-blood T-shirt while Grover wore pants and a green hoodie.

Hades appeared before us again after a few minutes.

"I will transport Jackson to empire estate building while you two go to the camp and tell them the tale what happened." Hades told us.

"Uncle, they were as integral to the quest as I was." I said.

"I know. But, Chiron needs to know that the Castellan boy you told me about is either the traitor or under the influence of my father. He gave the satyr here the shoes."

"Wh-what? Luke?" Annabeth asked.

"Yes daughter of Athena. He was the one who gave the satyr the replica of the talaria which nearly dragged him to the pit. He may have been tricked or influenced like Ares was. We can never be sure with my father in play. We need to check on him."

"Y-y-your f-fa-father milord?" Grover asked while Annabeth nodded.

"I think your friend will explain you." He told Grover before turning to me. "Go straight to Chiron. Don't tell the campers anything."

"I will send you to the entrance of the empire estate building. You need to ask the doorman for an audience with Zeus. Go there and pray to me when it is time to present Ares."

I nodded at the god's order. He waited.

#The sacrifice Percy.#

"Oh right!" I said out loud and took my bag out of my pocket and rummaged through it before I removed the box with Medusa's head.

I placed it on the ground and formed a huge fireball in my hands... The size of a football and threw it at it. The box was lit on fire.

"To Hades." I said.

Hades nodded.

Annabeth opened her mouth to say something but, Hades waved his wand and shadows enveloped me and my friends. Next, I was in front of the Empire estate building in New York.

Thirty seconds later, I walked into the lobby of the Empire State Building. I went up to the guard at the front desk and said, "Six hundredth floor please."

He was reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire book. I briefly entertained the idea of giving him a spoiler but, decided against it.

The guard took a while to look up. "No such floor, kiddo."

"I need an audience with Zeus."

He gave me a vacant smile. "Sorry?"

#Insist Percy. He has been ordered to do this.#

"You heard me sir, I want an audience with the king of gods." I said flaring my power.

"No appointment, no audience, kiddo. Lord Zeus doesn't see anyone unannounced."

"Oh, I think he'll make an exception." I slipped off my backpack and unzipped the top. The guard looked inside at the metal cylinder, not getting what it was for a few seconds. Then his face went pale. "

That isn't..."

"Yes, it is," I promised. "You want me take it out and-"

"No! No!" He scrambled out of his seat, fumbled around his desk for a key card, then handed it to me. "Insert this in the security slot. Make sure nobody else is in the elevator with you." I did as he told me. As soon as the elevator doors closed, I slipped the key into the slot. The card disappeared and a new button appeared on the console, a red one that said 600. I pressed it and waited, and waited.

Muzak played. "Raindrops keep falling on my head..." Finally, ding.

The doors slid open. I stepped out and almost had a heart attack. I was standing on a narrow stone walkway in the middle of the air. Below me was Manhattan, from the height of an airplane. In front of me, white marble steps wound up the spine of a cloud, into the sky. My eyes followed the stairway to its end, where my brain just could not accept what I saw.

From the top of the clouds rose the decapitated peak of a mountain, its summit covered with snow. Clinging to the mountainside were dozens of multileveled palaces—a city of mansions— all with white-columned porticos, gilded terraces, and bronze braziers glowing with a thousand fires. Roads wound crazily up to the peak, where the largest palace gleamed against the snow. Precariously perched gardens bloomed with olive trees and rosebushes. I could make out an open-air market filled with colorful tents, a stone amphitheater built on one side of the mountain, a hippodrome and a coliseum on the other.

#Welcome to Olympus Percy. What do you think?#

'It is even more beautiful than you showed me.' I replied

I walked towards the Olympian throne room. I passed some giggling wood nymphs who threw olives at me from their garden. Hawkers in the market offered to sell me ambrosia-on-a-stick, and a new shield, and a genuine glitter-weave replica of the Golden Fleece, as seen on Hephaestus-TV The nine muses were tuning their instruments for a concert in the park while a small crowd gathered-satyrs and naiads and a bunch of good-looking teenagers who might've been minor gods and goddesses. Nobody seemed worried about an impending civil war. In fact, everybody seemed in a festive mood. Several of them turned to watch me pass, and whispered to themselves.

I climbed the main road, toward the big palace at the peak. It was a reverse copy of the palace in the Underworld. There, everything had been black and bronze. Here, every-thing glittered white and silver.

I realized Hades must've built his palace to resemble this one. He wasn't welcomed in Olympus except on the winter solstice, so he'd built his own Olympus underground. I felt sorry for the guy.

Steps led up to a central courtyard. Past that, the throne room.

Room really isn't the right word. The place made Grand Central Station look like a broom closet. Massive columns rose to a domed ceiling, which was gilded with moving constellations. Twelve thrones, built for beings the size of Hades, were arranged in an inverted U, just like the cabins at Camp Half-Blood. An enormous fire crackled in the central hearth pit. I saw Hestia beam at me from the flames.

The thrones were empty except for two at the end: the head throne on the right, and the one to its immediate left. I didn't have to be told who the two gods were that were sitting there, waiting for me to approach.

Zeus, the Lord of the Gods, wore a dark blue pinstriped suit. He sat on a simple throne of solid platinum. He had a well-trimmed beard, marbled gray and black like a storm cloud. His face was proud and handsome and grim, his eyes rainy gray. I could smell the ozone from him.

The god sitting next to him was his brother, without a doubt, but he was dressed very differently. He reminded me of a beachcomber from Key West. He wore leather sandals, khaki Bermuda shorts, and a Tommy Bahama shirt with coconuts and parrots all over it. His skin was deeply tanned, his hands scarred like an old-time fisherman's. His hair was black, like mine. His face had that same brooding look that had always gotten me branded a rebel. But his eyes, sea-green like mine, were surrounded by sun-crinkles that told me he smiled a lot, too.

I looked a lot like him— My father, Poseidon.

His throne was a deep-sea fisherman's chair. It was the simple swiveling kind, with a black leather seat and a built-in holster for a fishing pole. Instead of a pole, the holster held a bronze trident, flickering with green light around the tips. His trident.

The gods weren't moving or speaking, but there was tension in the air, as if they'd just finished an argument.

I walked confidently towards the hearth and bowed to Poseidon before kneeling in the direction of the king of gods.

In reality, I had knelt at the hearth, to Hestia. Not Zeus.

Zeus spoke. "Should you not bow to the master of this house first, boy?"

#Don't reply. Let Poseidon handle it.#

"Peace, brother," Poseidon finally said. His voice stirred my oldest memories: that warm glow I remembered as a baby, the sensation of this god's hand on my forehead, "The boy defers to his father. This is only right."

"You still claim him then?" Zeus asked, menacingly. "You claim this child whom you sired against our sacred oath?"

"I have admitted my wrongdoing," Poseidon said. "Now I would hear him speak."

"Rise demigod." Zeus commanded and I rose. I could feel Hestia support me. "I will hear you out. Then I shall make up my mind whether or not to cast this boy down from Olympus."

I felt the warrior's crown(currently in cap form) reign in my temper.

"Address Lord Zeus, son," Poseidon told me. "Tell him your story."

I narrated everything to Zeus bar a few things and my demigod-dreams till I reached the part where I fought Ares.

That was when Zeus stood up.

"YOU DARE—" Zeus thundered but, I interrupted him.

"I have proof Lord Zeus. An eye-witness." I prayed to Hades and suddenly he appeared out of my shadow with an unconscious Ares in chains. A bump had formed on Ares's head. And he was still damp, smelling like old laundry.

Zeus looked flabbergasted for a moment before he regained his wits. "HADES! YOU AREN'T ALLOWED HERE EXCEPT FOR THE WINTER SOLSTICE! HOW-"

"Shut it brother. I have come to warn this council of something that my Nephew here has discovered." Hades replied calmly as he cast a glance at me. "And yes, Ares did possess your bolt and my helm. He said it himself. He took it from the real thief but, instead of returning it, he kept it himself. I saw the whole confrontation where this demigod defeated your son, by tricking him into fighting in the sea."

"I believe Hades' word." Poseidon said, himself rising from his throne. "You have no reason to doubt my son's word now."

It looked that Zeus had admitted defeat.

"I sensed that the boy told the truth," Zeus muttered. "But that Ares would do such a thing... it is most unlike him."

"He is proud and impulsive," Poseidon said. "It runs in the family."

"Lord?" I asked.

All the three gods said, "Yes?" At the exact same time. It was uncanny.

"I believe that Ares's actions weren't completely his own."

"Are you saying that my son was under someone's control." Zeus boomed

"Not exactly Lord Zeus. His actions were influenced. He was manipulated. He said he has been having dreams. But, yes. His actions weren't completely his own."

"I need to call Hera and Apollo." Zeus muttered and went to grab something which wasn't there. He suddenly looked at me.

"Demigod, give my bolt here." He said.

I took out the metal cylinder, which began sparking in the Sky God's presence, and laid it at the hearth. Zeus opened his palm. The lightning bolt flew into it. As he closed his fist, the metallic points flared with electricity, until he was holding what looked more like the classic thunderbolt, a twenty-foot javelin of arcing, hissing energy that made the hairs on my scalp rise.

He shot a thunder to the sky.

"Close your eyes sea spawn."

I did that, just before I felt two new presences arrive in the throne room. There were already six divine beings in the room: The big three, Ares Hestia and Athena. Athena was sitting on her Throne, invisible. But, if I could sense her, so would the gods.

Now, there were a total of eight. A moment later I opened my eyes.

Standing there were two people: A lady and a guy.

The lady was aristocratic, beautiful and wearing a Chiton made of silk. She had a gold crown on her head adorned with diamonds. Hera. The Queen of heavens. The goddess of Marriage.

The guy looked barely out of his teens and was grinning with a mega-watt smile which threatened to bind me. He was wearing modern clothes and had wireless earphones. Apollo. The sun god and the god of Medicine, music, poetry etc.

The gods had a quick conversation in Ancient Greek about what all had happened before a worried Hera snapped her fingers and Ares was unchained and placed on a bed. The two began tending to him.

'Why is Hera tending to Ares'

#She is the best with mind magic among the Olympians.#

After a few moments of silence, I turned to the big three.

"This is not all Lord Zeus."

He just looked at me sharply. So did Poseidon.

"What else do you have? Perhaps the identity of the identity of the one who did this?" He asked leaning forward in his throne. So did Poseidon and Athena. Hades just stood beside me.

"Yes. It wasn't direct but I have managed to put a few dots together."

Hades nodded in agreement.

#Tell the whole thing first before you tell them that it is their father. Hades listened. Zeus won't if you tell them that the crooked one is rising.#

"Throughout our quest I have been having dreams sir..." I told him everything including Grover's incident. I also included Ares's trance before our fight. By the end of it, Zeus and Poseidon were pale and worried. They too had reached the same conclusion.

"... So, based on these clues I think that your Father is rising sir. And he was the one who influenced Ares."

"That is not all brother." Hades said before Zeus could say anything. "I felt his presence today. While the demigod fought Ares and almost knocked him out, I felt his presence." Hades told them.

Zeus just leaned back in his throne, contemplating what to do.

#He isn't contemplating what to do. He is telepathically conversing with Athena.#

'Oh, okay.'

A few moments later, Zeus rose from his throne. Apollo was still tending to Ares.

"We will speak of this later, with the whole council present." Zeus said a few minutes later. "I must go personally to purify this thunderbolt in the waters of Lemnos, to remove the human taint from its metal."

He then looked at me. His expression softened just a fraction of a degree. "You have done me a service, boy. Few heroes could have accomplished as much."

"I had help, sir," I said. "Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase—"

"To show you my thanks, I shall spare your life. I do not trust you, Perseus Jackson. I do not like what your arrival means for the future of Olympus. But for the sake of peace in the family, I shall let you live."

"Um... thank you, sir."

He nodded and Thunder shook the palace. With a blinding flash of lightning, Zeus was gone.

Hera was busy with Ares but, Apollo was nowhere to be seen. Athena had also flashed out.

"Your uncle," a voice beside me sighed, "has always had a flair for dramatic exits. I think he would've done well as the god of theater."

Poseidon was standing there next to me and Hades.

Hades chuckled. "That he does. You talk with your son, brother. He is a worthy hero brother. You should be proud of him."

Poseidon smiled. "I am brother."

Hades vanished in my shadow. I turned to my father.

"You are worried." I said, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"My father is rising Percy. Everyone is worried. From time to time, over the eons, Kronos has stirred. He enters men's nightmares and breathes evil thoughts. He wakens restless monsters from the depths. But, this is the first time, his presence has been felt so... vividly. Had you not got Hades here, I think Zeus would have closed the matter for the time-being. You shouldn't worry about this for now son. You've completed your quest and prevented a war while revealing a potential threat." He said with a smile.

"And you also killed some of the worst monsters on this quest. Medusa, Echidna, Chimera... I am so very proud of you Percy."

"Thank you." I said a little awkwardly.

"Your mother is a queen among women," Poseidon said wistfully. "I had not met such a mortal woman in a thousand years. Still... I am sorry you were born, child. I have brought you a hero's fate, and a hero's fate is never happy. It is never anything but tragic."

I tried not to feel hurt. Here was my own dad, telling me he was sorry I'd been born.

#That is not what he meant Percy. He is sorry for the fate you will have.#

"I don't mind, Father." I said.

"Not yet, perhaps," he said. "Not yet. But it was an unforgivable mistake on my part."

"I'll leave you then." I bowed awkwardly. "I-I won't bother you again."

I was five steps away when he called, "Perseus." I turned. There was a different light in his eyes, a fiery kind of pride. "You did well, Perseus. Do not misunderstand me. Whatever else you do, know that you are mine. You are a true son of the Sea God. The sea is your home Percy. You're always welcome there."

I nodded.

"And I hope you found the book. And my gift served you well."

"I did. The trident is awesome dad."

"Good. Now, I think my sister is waiting outside to talk to you. And you're her champion... something to be proud of and undoubtably a great honor." He smiled at me before turning into sea mist and disappeared.

I went outside and was suddenly engulfed in a bone-crushing hug.

"Hestia... can't breathe..." I wheezed out. She broke the hug and looked at me before launching into a dozen questions to which I calmly answered. She then told me to go to the camp and said that we would talk there.

As I walked back through the city of the gods, conversations stopped. The muses paused their concert. People and satyrs and naiads all turned toward me, their faces filled with respect and gratitude, and as I passed, they knelt.

I was about to descend the steps towards the elevator when my path was intercepted by a regal looking raven-haired woman with Grey eyes. She was wearing a modern attire and looked at me with a stare that only the strictest teacher could muster.

#Athena.#

I bowed to her. "Lady Athena."

She fixed me with a cold, calculating stare. "Perseus Jackson." She said. "We need to have a talk."

Robert Moucka: A body count and a criminal record is not something anyone wants. Killing monsters is different and taking a life is different.

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All recognizable parts are from PJO: The Lightning thief.

Hope you all enjoyed it.

Stay Happy! Stay safe! Keep Smiling Keep reading!

HPfanfictioner66.